Peroxide process

The peroxide process is a method for the industrial production of hydrazine.

In this process hydrogen peroxide is used as an oxidant instead of sodium hypochlorite, which is traditionally used to generate hydrazine. The main advantage of the Peroxide process to hydrazine relative to the traditional Raschig process is that it does not coproduce salt. In this respect, the Peroxide process is an example of Green Chemistry. Since many millions of kilograms of hydrazine are produced annually, this method is of both commercial and environmental significance.

Production

Ketazine formation

In the usual implementation, hydrogen peroxide is used together with acetamide. This mixture does not react with ammonia directly but does so in the presence of methyl ethyl ketone to give the oxaziridine.

Balanced equations for the individual steps are as follows. Imine formation via condensation:

Oxidation of the imine to the oxaziridine:

Condensation of the oxaziridine with a second molecule of ammonia to give the hydrazone: